Van A. Dukeman Acquires 748 Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Stock

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) CEO Van A. Dukeman purchased 748 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.44 per share, for a total transaction of $15,289.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $267,743.56. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

First Busey Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:BUSE traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $22.34. 204,873 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 162,617. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.85. First Busey Co. has a 52-week low of $16.26 and a 52-week high of $25.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.73.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BUSE. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in First Busey by 1,143.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 972 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in First Busey during the 3rd quarter worth $218,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Busey during the 4th quarter worth $238,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in First Busey during the 4th quarter worth $249,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in First Busey by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,819 shares of the bank’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 4,566 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Company Profile

First Busey Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Busey Bank that engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking products and services to individual, corporate, institutional, and governmental customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and FirsTech.